Hello, so basically i'm incredibly bored right now, and i did not see any fire mage pvp guides, so i guess i could quickly throw in my understanding of the fire mage.
<side note, i wont really talk about arena, but my strategies CAN be applied to some scenarios, you just have to find them>
So let's get started.
DB = dragons breath
LB = living bomb
NOVA = ice nova
FB = fire blast
DISARM = the talent fiery payback disarm.
CS = counter spell.
FFB = Frost Fire Bolt
LB = living bomb
NOVA = ice nova
FB = fire blast
DISARM = the talent fiery payback disarm.
CS = counter spell.
FFB = Frost Fire Bolt
So, first off - What is a fire mage, and why would i think of rolling this mythical spec?
- The answer to that is this. A fire mage is something that will make it so you never get bored of WoW PVP, since it has such a high skill ceiling, and so many ways to play it, that it can never get boring.
Another question would be - Why not just roll frost/arcane?
- It is true that frost is easier to play than fire due to all the roots, slows, snare etc. But the thing with frost is, it only really has one style of play which is CC target(s) and cast frost bolts and lances when you cant cast, that's the basic gist of it.
- As for arcane, well arcane is like the mentally handicapped little cousin you would have, and no one really likes him, it can do things but when it gets focused, it's pretty useless. All you do is missiles through everything and the target dies because they just go through everything, be it intended or not.
Alright, let's get to the spec part. There are 3 spec's of fire that i have tried myself, and they have worked as intended.
1-> http://www.truewow.org/talent-calculato ... MGs:hdmzcV This is a Pom spec, for controlled burst, but very low static damage, you rely on fire blast and scorch as your main spells. As well as cone of cold and all the other instants. But this spec basically is for controlled burst damage, and survavability.
The basic gist of this spec is this - you freeze your opponent and you get a pyro proc from scorches, then you pop that pyro in and then pom pyro again for quite alot of damage in practically a single gcd, if you get lucky you can end someone in about 5 or 6 seconds with this rotation - Nova > Dragons Breath > Frost Fire Bolt > Fire blast > Proc Pyroblast if FFB and FB crit > Pom Pyro. This does ALOT of damage if you have HIGH Spell power.
Drawbacks are no living bomb, which is actually a really good talent, because you can get pyro procs from it when it explodes. and the DoT damage is quite nice too, as well as the keeping in combat part.
Usually i sit in Frost Armor with this spec for the extra mobility and CC.
2-> http://www.truewow.org/talent-calculato ... oGhuiuMGsz
This is my main spec, Living bomb and arcane shielding. This spec is good for every single class - Yes even warriors. IF PLAYED CORRECTLY.
This relies highly on the ability of the player to know what to do in every situation you get into, for example when to blink, when to nova, when to DB (because of the LB ) when to sheep etc.
Basically this is like frost, but without the slows. You have to keep nuking the target till he gets close to you, then you move away, and keep nuking again. ALWAYS have LB on, unless you are about to DB the target - then make sure it's not less than 4 seconds remaining, because LB blow up WILL cancel DB.
3-> http://www.truewow.org/talent-calculato ... RZhIbhobuh
This spec i used very little, and didn't find it all that good, but it could be good in some situations, for example Warrior duels or any Melee that cant really get out of roots that easy etc, this also can be a very burst heavy spec if done perfectly.
Now let's talk about the fighting style a fire mage uses. I will talk only about the main spec i use which is number 2.
Alright, so here goes. When fighting any melee class, and you know you're quite squishy, meaning you take really big hits and lose your health really fast etc, usually use Frost Armor, which slows the target for 4 seconds, and gives you around 500ish or so armor.
Other than that you can use Molten Armor, which gives you 5% crit and -5% chance to get critically hit.
VS casters and some other classes like ( dk - strang or hunter's silencing shot etc ) you can switch to Mage Armor and then for other than casters go back to the other armors for other benefits. But for casters pretty much always stay Mage Armor.
The basic opener of a fire mage is this -> LB > Nova > Scorch > FB > DB > FFB > FB > (if you get lucky proc then pyro) > Cone of Cold.
That's as basic as you can get. You might see that there is no sheep, that's because we're all about cc'ing other targets while nuking one.
But, this does not mean that this opener will always work and it's for ever class. This is just a basic opener that you can bend and stretch the possibilities of.
You have to always be aware of what and who you are fighting, and adapt to the situation in a blink of an eye, or else you will just flop.
A few tips i can give is, you can sometimes blink warriors charge, and then TRINKET the intercept and instantly nova him without taking practically no damage. What this achieves is that the warrior spent all the ways he can get to you, and you can just nova him and nuke him and pump him full of pyroblasts. ( be careful with spell reflect, CS it or Lance it )
Sometimes against bad warriors you can use spell reflect to your advantage by casting sheep into it, and getting sheep'd yourself thus getting ally our hp back while the warrior is still in a nova, and at less hp than you. But vs good warriors this would only work with PoM spec and rarely.
Other than that, wards are your friends - Fire ward reflects every fire spell and also Chaos Bolt, so when fighting warlocks it's a must to put it up when the lock casts Chaos Bolt, although he can just devour it, but it's still a good idea. VS dk's frost ward is your LOVER, reflecting chains of ice, is a game breaker, it just stop's the dk in his tracks, and you can just unload on him and pretty much global the sucker.
Use DB not only for damage purposes but also for escape purposes and trinket baiting, for example - Let's say a warrior just charged you, you nova him, you pop a few good scorches, then he intercepts you, then you blink pop a scorch or cone again, then you DB him. Most warriors would trinket the first DB (usually) so you just baited a trinket, thus you can just nova him again, and keep pumping the damage in, unless he bladestorms, then you get the fuck out of there. Either with a block, or just running. (corroded skeleton key mvp).
So the warrior has no trinket, and the DB cooldown is only 20 seconds, so after the 20 seconds you just db, and FFB him slowing him for 8 seconds, and then just kiting him that way.
So the warrior has no trinket, and the DB cooldown is only 20 seconds, so after the 20 seconds you just db, and FFB him slowing him for 8 seconds, and then just kiting him that way.
For escape DB can be used like this - You are low on hp, you know the opponent still has a trinket. So you just Nova him, then DB he will trinket that to finish you off, then you just blast wave and sheep him, doesnt matter that he's full hp, you got away and you can evocate, bandage or even eat. Hell you can even invis and run away if you feel like it. So it can be used for alot of things.
Speaking of Blast Wave - This is a really good tool for when a warrior charges you, you just blast wave him off you and pop some damage in him, if he intercepts then it's even better, you just blink and destroy him by popping mirrors for the slow and going ham
tip - you can CS a warrior so he cant use fear on mirrors for atleast 2 seconds, which is enough for the mirrors to cast a frost bolt. so it's a very good idea to pop mirrors and if the warrior is near, just CS him, you can always lance reflect anyway. This way the warrior will linger a little near the images to fear them, and you have atleast 2 seconds to pump some damage in him, and sometimes 2 seconds is all you need since you might have a pyro proc, and even PoM pyro right behind it.
I leave you with a personal quote that i describe fire with -
If you fuck up once, you die. As simple as that.
Have fun with the spec and don't burn yourself(too much).
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